'County Lines' drug dealer jailed after being caught in East Herts

A drug dealer who sold heroin and crack cocaine across East Hertfordshire has been jailed for three years.

19-year-old Kalil Murray from Keswick Drive in Enfield, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court, having pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A.

He was arrested after patrolling police officers spotted a speeding car in Turnford, which then stopped outside an address in High Road on March 7th 2018.

As officers approached, they smelt what they believed to be cannabis and the occupants were detained for a search, along with the vehicle.

Eight wraps of heroin, 13 packages of crack cocaine, a small bag of powdered cocaine and a quantity of cannabis were discovered and seized, along with cash and several mobile phones.

Further searches revealed he had two packets of class A in his underwear. These were later confirmed to be 23 wraps of heroin and 19 wraps of crack cocaine.

Investigations revealed that Murray was a 'County Lines' dealer from a London gang which had been operating in East Hertfordshire. County Lines is the name given to describe drug dealing, which involves criminal networks from urban areas expanding their activities into smaller towns and rural areas.

Detective Constable Andy Burnett from the Constabulary's Case Investigation Team said: "I am pleased with today's sentence and I hope it serves as a warning to those thinking about coming into Hertfordshire to deal drugs that we are proactively hunting them down.

"We will seek the fullest sentence possible to tackle their criminal behaviour, which is tormenting and destroying lives in Hertfordshire."